Step 6: We now return to your regularly scheduled broadcast: The Cradle

Step 7: Finger loop & Finish!

Cut a little rectangle of plastic approximately 1"x4"Fold and twist it a bit and tie it into a small loop.Now: loop the new little loop onto the knott...

(I came up with this idea during the Recycling-themed contest, but I hadn't the chance to instructable-ize it till now.)

Imagine:You're stuck on a island with no sign of human habitation except some litter bobbing at the shoreline. You need to hunt the wildlife for food (or, if you're a vegetarian: there's a vicious critter (or coconut) stalking you, and you must kill it).What do you do?

Construct a make-shift sling out of a plastic bag!

My goal was to create a reasonable sling out of a plastic bag using the simplest possible construction.It's not all that accurate, nor powerful, but you're using less than half a plastic bag. You're getting quite a lot out of this little scrap of trash.

Materials:- A plastic bag (grocery bags work well, but some of the classier, thick mil bags won't)- Scissors (also useful for close-quarters combat with that vicious critter!)- ... and some bandages + first aid cream (see step 5)

Don't poke anyone's eye out, don't strangle puppies with the sling. General safety rules apply, but by and large, this sling is a rather tame weapon. (I think you need to be more conscientious that your left-over plastic isn't a choke hazard than over projectile injury.)Honestly, I'm more likely to use this to lob crumpled paper at my friends than anything else, so I'm blatantly ignoring the "don't shoot people" rule.

I wrote an instructable on how to make a 7 part braided rope from plastic bags, it might make a slightly more durable sling. Also I thought using the techniques posted elsewhere here on instructables which fuse many layers of plastic bags together using a clothing iron might make for an interesting idea for a cup/pouch for the rock.

Very instructive! Especially, steps 4 and 5, where you wisely elected not to give the scissors a further opportunity to perform a further indignity on your person.

Although, I try to recycle, and recycle, and recycle; the pesky little beasties threaten to overwhelm my home if I fail to maintain constant vigilance. It was so much simpler, when I was a boy and we merely had brown paper bags. Of course, we had a different problem..

Speaking has a vegetarain and the ocasional out doorsmen thoughs coconuts can be very dangerous critters what whith there tendency to use arial attacks directed right at your nogen. But any ways great instructable my family has tons of those plastic bags laying around i might I think i'm gona put a couple of them towards something constructive so i can then induldge in the plesures of being destructive :p

Bravo! Though I am still a wibble beet unclear on how you did Step 1, cutting the handle in half, and it stil be completely intact or something in the picture. O.o Eh. You get what I mean. Otherwise, it are the pwnage.

Not a bad instructable or concept. I've seen a few sling making site and I think your might be too small to be very effective. I know you qualified it, but maybe I can offer some improvements. Basically, make it bigger. IIRC, the sites referenced specific measurements based on arm length etc. I have also experimented a fair amount with making cordage out of plastic bags. I prefer to cut off the handles and cut off the melt-sealed bottom. That give you a loop. You can create a chain by linking several of these together to get longer cordage. You can make the cordage thinner by cutting the loop into several loops, but this stuff is not that strong, so the smaller you go, the easer it is to break. Your technique for smoothing out the cordage is very similar to mine, but I would say keep twisting (before folding in half and letting it coil around itself) until it starts to kink in places and coil at points by itself. This will make a tighter cord. You might also consider using multiple chains of loops for a single cord for more thinkness and strength. If it is tight, you get more strength per given thinkness. I would definately consider using you idea, but if I found twenty garbage bags on the beach, I would use them all for a sling, or maybe for a cordage backed bundle bow. :-)

My goal was to come up with the simplest construction for a reasonable sling (from a plastic bag), and I hope I did succeed. I have no doubt it's really ineffective, though. I get better aim when throwing with my left foot, than with the sling! This lil' sling is probably best suited to kids running around indoors, lobbing Nerf balls than anything else. I'm working on building a "real" sling, but I'm finding that urban areas are rather poor locations for testing projectile weapons. Could you describe, diagram or photograph what you're describing with "cutting off the handles (& bottom)" and the resultant loop? I'm not sure of how you mean it, but I'm guessing the loop is the body of the bag? (The rest of your suggestions are plenty clear, though.) Continuing with the plastic-bags-as-a-weapons-building-material, what about using bags to provide torsion for a small ballista? Teaspoon ballista, powered by plastic bags! (Though with twenty garbage bags, I bet you could get a much heftier ballista than that.)

Sorry, not pic. Your instructable cut the two pleat side of the bag. The handles and bottom are the other two of the for sides when laid flat. The handles are the part you normally carry the bag with. The bottom is opposte where it is melted closed. Platic bags and plastic spoon? Sounds interesting.